Hunger
by mharawolenczak
Summary: Story about Sarah's life after the Labyrinth and the consequences of her actions in the Labyrinth.
1. Otherworldly Fruit

Sarah sat on the park bench watching Toby play fetch with their dog. 'He's gotten so big' she thought 'I can't believe it's been ten years since I ran the labyrinth'. But it had. It had been ten years since Sarah had run the labyrinth to gain back the brother she wished away. A lot had changed in that time. Sarah had grown up, put away her toys and graduated high school, yet she tried to hold onto the magic of the labyrinth. When Merlin died, her parents bought another dog – another old English sheep dog. Toby was still a young child, so it made sense that he should have a dog growing up just as she did. Since Sarah would be leaving for school soon they let Toby name him. They were shocked when the four-year old said "Ambrosius" but Sarah secretly smiled. She was glad then that she had told Toby the story of the labyrinth- even if she pretended that the princess named Sarah and her brother Tobias were only _fictional_ representations of herself and Toby and that the story was made up purely for his enjoyment. The new dog gave her something to hold onto from her journey-Sir Didymus, Hoggle and Ludo having only made one journey into this world.

She went away to school, completing a bachelor's in English and Mythology and went onto graduate work in English, her focus being children's fantasy literature. She was as happy as she expected to be in this world.

Yet there was something missing. For ten years she had been happy to have her brother back, never once wishing him away again or regretting her decision to take her brother over the Goblin-king. She missed her Labyrinth friends but went on to make real friends- human friends, who shared her love for the fantastical. While they looked at the stories as myth and imagination Sarah had the joy of knowing the truth behind the stories, of knowing that magic truly existed. But no matter how happy she was, for ten years Sarah Williams had been hungry. Oh she could eat, and sustain the body she lived in. But her soul was never placated. Her body demanded more food than those around her.

"Sarah you're so skinny!" friends would cry out, jealous of how much she could eat without gaining weight. Sarah would smile bitterly to herself when they said that. It was in her first year of university that she realized the source of her hunger. A professor giving a lecture in Celtic mythology discussed the role of faerie food, and the effect it had on mortals. It was then she realized what she had done that day in the Labyrinth. She had broken the golden rule of fairy tales. She had eaten while in the other world. And while she could eat here, and be happy in our world, she would never satisfy the hunger within her that cried out for more.


	2. Offending Fruit

The peaches first started appearing a year after she'd rescued Toby. Sarah found a beautifully ripened peach on the vanity in her room. Thinking that her stepmother had left it for her Sarah ate it without thinking. Her appetite had dramatically increased over the year before and she'd eat anything she could get her hands on. Two more peaches appeared, the first in her lunch pail and a third on the hallway table next to her car keys. Each year they appeared on the anniversary of Toby's abduction and each year she ate them, never pausing to notice that she hadn't packed one in her lunch or wondering what a peach would be doing on the hall table. It wasn't until her first year of university, shortly after the tell-tale lecture that one appeared in her dorm. It was then she realized what Jareth had been doing. Over the years her appetite had increased more each year. Sarah thought it was hormones, and part of being a teenager- that's the answer her stepmother gave when she questioned her ferocious appetite. But the day the peach appeared on her bedside table in her dorm room she knew that she had fallen into the Goblin King's trap.

Sarah had thrown the peach away, but the next day another appeared, then another, and another. Each time Sarah disposed of the offending fruit it would reappear. Finally she left them. It became a running joke amongst her friends, every time someone would visit they would comment on the enticing fruit that almost seem to _call_ to them, begging to be eaten. Sarah refused each and every request to share and refused to reveal where she 'bought' it.

Several months later, Sarah finally realized that she couldn't ignore the fruit any longer. A friend had been visiting and after being denied the fruit for the umpteenth time had launched herself at Sarah in anger, fighting with her to get to the forbidden fruit. It was then that Sarah resigned herself to her fate and ate the peach. She realized that the king would never relent and that it was a danger to those around her if she left the fruit in the open. She considered keeping her friends from her dorm but what if later on she gained a roommate? When she settled down to marriage and had children? She would not be able to monitor the fruit and those she loved all the time. It scared Sarah to think that by the time she was married the Goblin King would still be pursuing her, and she half hoped that by that time the King would have grown bored, but she knew that years could pass in the mortal world and feel like only minutes to the fae. The King stopped replacing the peach and resumed his earlier habit of delivering just one peach a year.

She stopped ignoring the peach when it appeared, and simply sighed when she saw the day approaching on the calendar. Eventually stopped sleeping in the day or two before the anniversary- so anxious she was about the fruit. She told herself it was fear, that it was not an excited anticipation but a fearful one. In truth Sarah looked _forward_ to the day when her peach would come, because on that day and that day alone Sarah could eat and not feel hungry. For a few moments each year her appetite would be sated. But the feeling would last only a few moments before the unrelenting hunger would again ravage her body.


	3. One Of Two Fates

Sarah swore that she would find a way to beat Jareth's game, a way out of the trap she had placed herself in. It was an obsession the way she poured over every book in the library related to faerie and faerie food. She read everything she could get her hands on, all the ancient texts, mythologies from every country she could find. She even read all the pop culture books on the subject hoping that one of them would come up with a solution to her problem. Try as she might she couldn't find the answer. She did however gain a master's thesis on faerie food in literature, and a Doctorate which specifically explored the role that faerie food had in children's literature. From the myth of Persephone to Lewis's Narnia right up to Melling's "The Hunter's Moon" Sarah followed the evolution of the myth of otherworldly food searching for the answer.

Finally she gave up. The day in her dorm when she resigned herself to eat Jareth's peach -in spite of knowing the costs - she had still held out hope that she would one day find a way out his trap, find a loop hole in his myth. But it wasn't there. She had eaten the fruit of the fae and for that she was condemned to one of two fates: to live out her life on the mortal plane, never fully satisfied but with her family and friends living the life SHE wanted or the alternative. Return to the underground and submit herself to the rule of the Goblin King.

Author's note: Please ignore the weird line things… my word processor has an attitude problem… and I promise that there shall be less narrator past tense describing and more present tense conversation soon, and I know the chapters are short but it's just my style I guess lol


	4. Magic Words

The last ten years and her secret life of peaches crossed her mind while she was watching Toby play with Ambrosius. _'Stop thinking about it,'_ she told herself. _'I can't,'_ her inner voice replied_ 'YOU can't.' _Sarah sighed. It was true. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Today was the anniversary and yet there wasn't a peach in sight. She'd stayed up half the night waiting but finally had fallen asleep. When she woke up she searched her room, the kitchen, even her car for a peach but she couldn't find any. She couldn't believe it! It was always there! She thought maybe she was up too early. She had decided that she would go visit her father and step mother and spend the day with Toby. The peach would defiantly be there when she got home.

"Sarah!" said Toby running up to her. "Tell me the magic words to go to the labyrinth."

Sarah frowned. In all the years she had been telling Toby the story she had never revealed the right words to him – she was too afraid of what would happen. He had stopped asking years ago, catching on that his big sister would never give in.

Sarah laughed. "Now why would you need to know that?" she asked.

He looked at her thoughtfully. "I dunno," he said biting his lip "I just want to know."

"Well I'm not going to tell you" she laughed scoping him up in her arms and tickling him.

"Ow…Saaraahh… stoppppp…. It's not fair!"

"That's right" said Sarah in her best door knocker voice "it's not fair

"But that's the way it is" exclaimed Toby excitedly interrupting. "Oh Sarah, I wish I did know the words to send us away to the Goblin King."

Sarah stopped tickling Toby and put him immediately. The look that came on her face was one of fear and warning all at once. She grabbed Toby by his shoulders and lowered herself to his level.

"Toby," Sarah said sternly "you must never EVER say anything like that again do you understand?" Toby just stared back at her, a blank look crossing his face. "Do you understand?" she said harshly. He just stared back, as if under a spell. "TOBY" she shouted at him "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Toby's face shifted then and his eyes sparkled as if they had somehow uncovered a secret and the corners of his mouth turned up as if into a smirk. It frightened Sarah a bit.

"I wish"| said Toby, and Sarah's frowned deepened and a small amount of fear crept into her eyes. "I wish the Goblin king would come and take YOU away, RIGHT NOW".

With that he wretched himself free of Sarah's grasp and ran away towards his parent's house. Sarah just knelt there, stunned. _'Toby' _she thought _'what have you done?_' Standing up Sarah looked frantically around her, searching for any sign that Toby's wish had been heard. She saw nothing '_Maybe it only works on babies' _she thought. She scanned the tree line searching for the tell tale white bird that marked the Goblin King's presence. She walked around the park for a few minutes, carefully looking for anything out of place, but finding nothing by children playing and a few dogs and their owners -no goblins or men in tights – she eventually gave up and she headed in the direction that Toby had gone.

It was only after she'd exited the park that a white barn owl poked its head from behind a tree and came into view.


	5. What Happened?

_**Apologies on the delayed updates…err final papers/exams and summer school = death to creative edge **_____

After a nice dinner with Toby and her parents Sarah headed home to the one bedroom apartment that she had moved into last year. She had lived at home all through her schooling, partly to save money but mostly to keep an eye on Toby and make sure he was alright. After graduation, she took a job teaching at a university- just a couple of undergraduate courses on fantasy literature and mythology. The money wasn't amazing but it was enough, and when her dad suggested it was time for her own place she couldn't come up with a good enough reason to stay. They thought she was just afraid to leave home but the truth was, she was afraid to leave Toby.

That night in her apartment, Sarah dreamt of the Labyrinth for the first time in ten years.

"_Turn back Sarah, turn back before it's too late" Jareth faded away and Sarah turned towards the Labyrinth. But instead of the dry, sunny Labyrinth she remembered she was faced with a dark and menacing sight. The sky was black, and she heard thunder, but there was no lightening to accompany it. She walked up to the Labyrinth and saw a small figure by a pond. At first she thought it was a statue, but when it moved she recognized it. "Hoggle!" she shouted. Sarah ran excitedly over to the figure, but the closer she got the more it seemed out of place. The figure was hunched over and moving at a snail's pace. As she got close enough to see his face lightening finally flashed and what Sarah saw terrified her more than anything..._

Sarah shot up in bed. Sweat poured down her back and she kicked off the covers, jumping out of bed and moving towards the window. It was dark, and raining. Lightening flashed just as it had in her dream and Sarah saw Hoggle, _her Hoggle_ again in her mind's eye as she had in her dream.

Lightening flashed again and Sarah remembered the rest of the dream.

_A stone faced Hoggle looked up at her. "Hoggle?" The figure didn't respond just kept moving, so slow, Sarah couldn't figure out why. Then she saw his hands. And his feet. His face wasn't just emotionless. It was stone. "Hoggle... What happened?" Hoggle finally acknowledged her. "Sa..ar..ahhh…?" his speech was haltered. His mouth could barely move. "It's me Hoggle. What's happened to you?" Hoggle turned his head as much as his stone neck would let her. "Yo..uu…happened…Sar..ahhhh"_


	6. He's Really Cool

Author's note: Ah, sorry about the lack of writing… what with life and writer's block I had decided to abandon this story… but I finally got hit with the motivation/ imagination to add to it.

Sarah awoke the next morning to the blaring light shining in her bedroom window and the phone ringing. She pulled her pillow over her head and groaned. After a moment the ringing stopped and Sarah rolled over to try and go back to sleep. She didn't have a class to teach until the afternoon and for some reason she was exhausted. Just as she was closing her eyes the phone started ringing again. Groaning she rolled back over and grabbed the phone of her nightstand.

"Hello" she answered groggily.

"Sarah? It's Toby."

"Toby? What time is it?" Sarah looked at the clock and shot out of bed. It was two o'clock in the afternoon! Her class began in less than an hour!

"Toby I'm sorry, I have to get ready for my class. Can I call you back later?"

"No! Listen I just need five minutes. Please Sarah?"

Sarah sighed at the sound of his voice- he sounded upset and it wasn't his fault she'd slept all day.

"Of course Toby" she replied soothingly. "What's going on?"

"Well my class is supposed to go to a festival tomorrow and our teacher is sick! She's going to be out for at least a week. And it's going around because half the teachers and parents have it and we don't have enough supervisors to go now! There's not enough supply teachers! But our new principal says that because you're a teacher and an adult if you come then they'll let us go because you count for some student-teacher ratio. So please please please!"

It took Sarah a minute to register what Toby was saying but less than a second to reply.

"Of course Toby! What time should I be there?"

"WHOOOPPPEEE!" Sarah moved the phone away from her ear as a shout erupted. When it quieted down she repeated herself.

"Toby, what time?"

"Oh I don't know. I have to go back to class now, here you can talk to our principal, he's really cool, and…" Toby's voice dropped to a whisper, "he looks like the goblin king." Toby laughed then returning his voice to a normal level said "Bye Sarah!"

"Ok, bye Toby" Sarah shouted into the phone as she heard him pass it off. She could hear the person on the other end but they didn't say anything.

"Err… hello?" she said tentatively.

"Hello Sarah." Sarah chilled. She knew that voice. It was the same voice that had sung to her so many years ago. Sarah was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was talking to the goblin king.


	7. Can't Say No

Sarah faltered for a moment but then she remembered all the feelings she had for the Goblin King. She bottled all the anger into one place and started talking.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry, is this Sarah Williams?" the voice on the phone replied. It was kind, yet Sarah was sure it was him.

"Yes it is. I asked what you wanted?" Sarah snapped again.

"Ahem, perhaps this is a bad time. I'm Toby's new principal, Mr. King."

_Of course his last name is King_ Sarah said snidely in her mind. Fortunately she seemed to develop enough patience to keep it to herself.

"Toby and I were calling to see if you could supervise the field trip tomorrow. I had assumed from his shouting that you said yes, although I'm not sure with your current attitude that you are feeling up to a field trip with 30 children."

His voice continued to remain calm. It carried the musical quality of the Goblin King's but did not have any of his venom or maliciousness. _Maybe I only think it sounds like him because Toby mentioned he looked like him._ She quickly composed herself.

"I'm sorry," she said in the nicest voice she could muster. "Toby just woke me up and I'm about to be late to teaching, you both just caught me off guard. I apologize Mr. King. Of course I would be happy to supervise the trip."

"Well I do apologize for keeping you Miss Williams, I had no idea you had an appointment. I had hoped to go over the itinerary and rules for the trip tomorrow. It is important that you be aware of everything before we go. Normally I would suggest we simply meet before the trip, but there is a lot of content to go through, as well I have an appointment that ends only a short while before the trip. Would you be willing to meet with me later to go over everything?"

_Damn,_ thought Sarah. _I can't possibly say no._ She wasn't looking forward to meeting this Mr. King. His voice was close enough to Jareth's, she wasn't sure if she could handle the face to match.

"Of course," she replied with a hollow voice. "I'd be happy to. Why don't you come here for 8 o'clock?"_ At least here I'll feel a little safer._

"Of course," he echoed. "Where is 'here' exactly?"

"Oh!" Sarah realized he wouldn't know where she lived. She quickly rambled off the address and then made her apologies.

"I'm sorry Mr. King, but I really do need to go. I will see you later."

"Of course my dear. Have a nice class." With that he hung up.

_My dear? Who says my dear anymore?_ Shaking her head Sarah quickly got on with her day.

Author's Note: Don't know why I thought Sarah's last name was Williams… seems to be a fanfic trend… it isn't that on IMDB… but might be in the ending credits… oh well, that's what it is now!


	8. Black Eyes

Sarah looked at her watch as her last class ended.

_Seven o'clock. Great, that means I may have just enough time to grab some food and cook dinner before Mr. King arrives._

Sarah rushed to the grocer, but unfortunatly the store was crowded and the lines were long and by the time she was pulling into her driveway it was 7:55.

And there was a man standing on her porch.

_Great. Hopefully this doesn't take too long – I'm starving._

Sighing Sarah turned off the engine, collected her purchases and moved towards the house. Mr. King remained in the shadows until she was almost at the door.

"Hi. Sorry to make you wait. At least it isn't raining I guess? Shoot!" Sarah said in a rush of words as she dropped her keys. She bent over to puck them up again

"Here let me help you with that," replied Mr. King, stepping out of the shadows and into the porch light, taking the groceries from Sarah.

"Oh! Thank you," she replied, handing him the groceries. Straightening she continued to talk while finally unlocking the door.

" The line at the grocer's was atrocious- " Sarah stopped as her eyes met Mr. King's. Toby was right… he looked exactly like the Goblin King- with one exception. She'd never told Toby about the Goblin King's eyes. How he'd had one green and one blue. The man standing before her had dark brown, almost black eyes- nothing like Jareth's. Sarah felt a wave of relief rush over her at the realization that he really wasn't Jareth.

_It makes sense_ she thought._ There are tons of stories about fey folk with a human look alike. _

Sarah smiled and pushed the door open. She motioned for Mr. King to enter the house.

"After you," she said with a smile.

Mr. King smiled and stepped into the house with Sarah close behind.

As Sarah shut the door she heard a noise and turned to look behind her. She thought she saw a flash of white in the tree in the front yard and stepped back out onto the porch to get a better look. The sky had darkened and lightening flashed, a sure sign that it was going to storm.

_Huh. That storm is coming from nowhere… and I swear I saw a – _Sarah shook her head. She was beginning to imagine things. She most certainly had not seen a white barn owl! Sarah turned to go back inside and felt someone watching her. She glanced around the yard one more time and shut the door. Lightening flashed again and the tree in the yard lit up to reveal a white barn owl perched in the branches watching the house.


	9. Almost Kisses

"Won't you have a seat?" Sarah gestured to one of the stool surrounding the island in her kitchen. "I'll just put these away and we can talk about the trip."

Sarah began putting the groceries away when she felt a presence next to her. She turned to find Mr. King holding a brick of cheese in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. At the sight of them Sarah's stomach growled. She winced, but noticed that Mr. King only smiled.

"Am I under the right impression that you haven't eaten yet Ms. Williams?" he said gently.

"Well, I ah, no. Not really. I've been teaching for the last few hours." Sarah blushed in embarrassment at the situation. "I'll eat when we're done."

"Nonsense. I'll cook you a grilled cheese." Mr. King turned and walked to the counter. Setting the cheese and bread down he began pulling the other ingredients needed including butter and a frying pan. Sarah made to help him but he tutted her away. So she went back to putting the groceries away. When she'd finished, she turned and saw Mr. King flipping a couple of grilled cheeses onto a plate and set them down on the table.

Grinning Sarah pulled the ketchup out of the fridge along with the jug of milk. She went to the cupboard and pulled out two plates and two glasses. Setting them on the table she motioned for Mr. King to join her. He tried to object but Sarah insisted he join her.

"If you insist my dear," he replied sitting down and helping himself to a grilled cheese.

_There's that my dear again. _Thought Sarah. She was pulled from her thoughts as Mr. King began explaining the itinerary for the trip tomorrow. Eventually the conversation progress from the trip to Sarah's studies and her current teaching and research. Sarah made a pot of coffee and pulled a frozen desert from the freezer. They talked for hours until Sarah happened to glance at the clock.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's close to midnight." She hurriedly began cleaning up the dishes. "Here I am going on and on and we have to get up early. You must be exhausted."

"Actually, I find myself quite… stimulated," Mr. King said as he walked over to Sarah. Taking her face in his hands he continued, "You my dear are the most fascinating human I've ever met." He closed the gap between them.

Sarah's breath hitched as she realized what he was going to do. Her heart began to beat fast as she also closed the gap between them. Just as their lips were about to meet there was a crashing against the French doors that led to the patio.

"What the –" Sarah's head whipped around to spy a white barn owl beating its wings against the glass. It was like it was trying to get in.

"Oh! Don't do that!" Sarah cried as she rushed over to the glass. "You'll hurt yourself!" she cried out to the bird, even though she knew it couldn't hear her. Surprisingly, the bird did seem to hear and flew away. Sarah opened the door and stepped outside. She tried to find the bird in the night sky but she couldn't.

_It couldn't have been… could it? She thought._

Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time that night Sarah turned and went back inside.

"I'm sorry about that, I don't know what…" Sarah's voice trailed off as she saw the hate which flashed in Mr. King's eyes. He was staring out the window after the bird.

"Mr. King?" Sarah asked tentatively. She was a little afraid of the look in his eyes.

His eyes snapped to her and for a moment she felt all the hate in them but just as quickly it melted away and his eyes softened.

"I'm sorry; I have a thing… against owls. It's silly, but I really don't like them," he explained. "Especially white barn owls," he said darkly.

"It's ok, really. I understand." Sarah did understand, but the mood was broken.

Mr. King must have known this because he apologized again and excused himself for the night. Sarah walked him to the door. As they stood in the open doorway, it seemed as though he might try to kiss her again, but the hoot of an owl broke the spell once again and he walked down the drive and got into his car. As he drove away Sarah looked up and saw the white barn owl looking down at her from the trees. Glaring at it Sarah went inside and slammed the door.


End file.
